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Know what? i had the most interesting bio lab work today!! we used the microscope to see..... moving chloroplasts!! It was so coOl. We examined the leaf of a water plant.. and could actually see the numerous chloroplasts moving round the border of the cell walls.. they just went round and round and round.. hahaha..

But was kind of tired today.. monday blues... anyway, i like my class.. cos we like to eat. Haha.. Have the habit of eating during lessons. Hahaha.. someone will just bring a bag of food and pass ard.. LOl.. today was chocolate coated raisins during bio lecture.. LOL.. wonder what's on tmr =)

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Wah. Today's service was so POWERFUL! I was so impacted. I remember pst Kong said that we'll meet giants in our life, be it in our studies, family, career... Don't tell God to get rid of the giants.. but pray that you can become STRONGER than the giants. Let's be the giant slayers! =)

For the last 2 days i was feeling really down cos of some internal family conflicts. But i wanna thank God for sending the right people at the right time to comfort me. So i felt much better =)Thanks to those who were patient and endured facing my blacker-than-charcoal face. =) YAy! i'm back to my normal a-bit-hyper self now! toO bad if u don like it. Haha..

oH ya.. to backtrack a little.. i ran NINE rounds at the tracks on friday. NINE!!! lol.. Thanks to vickram who ran with me. He ran 6 rounds before that. LOL.. And we still have 27 rounds to go. YAy all the way! Jia you! lol.. Reason being, we ponned PE lessons haaha.... but i don't really mind cos it's kind of fun running with him. Haha.. Wah. i feel that my muscles are so saturated now.. HAha.. Still considering if i should run with wenbin tmr HAha.. I'm going crazy. =)

Verse of the day:
"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31

Nice Day
today was so packed. but i like it. School was, as usual, nothing much to do. 4 periods of CHINESE were spent making LANTERN for the lantern festival.. or izzit chinese new yr.. not sure. Anyway, Yu Su taught us how to make paper rose, which i totally couldn't seem to catch it after like.. half an hr? Haha.. So i gave up la. Mine looked like a lump of i donno what. But thru this i get to know more of my classmates better.. they are funny la. Haha..

diana waited for me after school and we went to meet bird to go orchard library to study. That's our favourite study place! So nice.. Can eat and study.. Haha.. Completed 'the da vinci code'. Satisfied. Haha.. Have the urge to study nowadays... I hope the teachers can go at a faster rate, cos i hope to gain more during the 1st 3 months so i will be well ahead for the rest of the yr..

Went to the bible house for bible study.. and had to rush down to church for my first choir orientation! Yay! It was fun la. So excited for the 'real' practice hehe..

Verse of the day:
And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
Deuteronomy 28:13

didn't go to school today.. wasn't feeling very well... haha so i asked my father to write a letter to my civics tutor. So he wrote,

Dear Teacher,
My daughter, Aileen Tan, woke up this morning feeling very dizzy and unwell. I advise her to rest at home so that she would have a speedy recovery. I am very sorry for any inconvenience caused and I believe she should be able to attend school tomorrow.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours faithfully,
(signature)

It's so funny i feel. HahaHa.. Firstly, i didnt tell him i was feeling dizzy, i just told him i felt sick. Secondly, the words he used are so funny.. hahaha..

I simply love english oldies! Thanks ah da ren for being my very nice mp3 player. I was first introduced to Air Supply by my father in upper primary and since then have been loving that era's songs. They will always remain my all-time favourite! and i believe their popularity won't die off at least for another century cos the songs contain so much emotions and it is always interesting to figure out the hidden messages of some songs. Heh. =)

Today's service was wow! great! I would have to agree with both hands that Jurong West St91 is the most happening place to be in a sunday morning!! We have the coolest and funniest pastor and a congregation that's so on fire for God!! I'd also have to agree that one day in the house of God is better than a thousand days in the world! =)

Every step i take You will lead me
With you I'll walk the raging seas
You're the strength when I am weary
You give me reason to believe
- From the song "Hold Me Close"

Verses of the day:
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
Psalms 84:10-11

WOoo~ Such a great day!!! Had our first cell grp meeting this yr and it was fantastic!!! Everyone was so on fire! =) We totally rocked the whole place! =) What a great start to a great year! =) We shared so many testimonies and it seemed that everyone was so blessed in one way or another. =) Ya true, as we walk in God's path, blessings will just come our way! =) Alice came for makeup cell today and she commented that our cg left her a very good impression. Haha.. Solid la.. N256 simply rOcks! =)

Anyway, after fellowship, me, alice and gary went to bugis. Haha.. It was fun la. Haha.. We walked to suntec after dinner.. Haha.. and went to carrefour to buy food then walked to the fountain and ate there.. Haha.. The moon was bright.. the clouds were moving fast. Haha...

Tmr will be my last usher duty. Kind of have mixed emotions.. I've been in usher ministry for ard 2 yrs.. have made a lot of very wonderful friends and of cos have learnt a lot from usher. It is heartwarming to know that you play a part in making people feel welcome in our church. It feels good to bring a smile on people's faces.. And basically to be a servant for God and God's people. But I have to move on, move on to another calling which is the choir ministry. It's a ministry i wanna join so much since the beginning and now that i finally have a chance to get in, i am very happy. Haha.. Can't wait for the first practice! Haha.. =)

Verse of the day:
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

<->
Special request by Gary himself..

He is a VERY good cell grp member... VERY encouraging.. thanks for the 'talk' ytd, i feel better about going to school now. =)

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It's really sad how some people blame circumstances for everything bad that has happened to them, when ultimately, the cause is themselves. Pst Kong once said "All your life is a summation of your commitment." If you're 'commited' to dwelling in your past then i don't think you'll be able to move from glory to glory, life will still be the same for you 10 yrs down. Or maybe sth different, it will get worse. All of us trek on our own life journey. Mine's currently in a valley, but i'm still moving on. There's no stopping in this adventure and i'm so eager to see what God has in stored for me when i step out of it. Hehe.. Here's an encouraging segment in the bible-

Faith Truimphs in Trouble
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perserverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5: 1-5

I have walked the darkest and deepest valleys, but each time God was with me thru it all. i only become stronger by God's strength. There's really nothing much to fear for i know that my Heavenly Father has already overcome the world and I feel so privileged to be His child, knowing that i'm safe and protected under His wings. Hehe.. =)

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oH finally i'm back. Haha.. Com was down for the past few days so i kept myself occupied with DanBrown's 'the davinci code'. It's been on the bestselling list for SO long, so i decided to read up to see how interesting it really is.. 3/4 right now... the storyline is fantastic and really captivates me. However, a fair bit of the story touches on God, Jesus and the Bible. And it doesn't take a believer to know that danbrown is kind of anti-christ. Some of the things he mentioned are very disturbing and it makes you feel like becoming the author for some chapters.

Anyway.... school was boring. Gotten our classes today, mine's 05S6. A lot of girls. My civics teacher is Ms Yew and i think she's really pretty and sweet. She smiled at me! And my impression of her has been good even though we have hardly spoken. Have been visiting the school's library a lot recently. Guess what i saw? J1s searching for reference books and actually reading them. I saw the big word 'PHYSICS' in front. Gosh. It's either i'm too slacked, or they have no life. Anyway, if you wanna take a walk thru history, u can come to our library. We have books 10 over yrs old and i bet the whole setting hasn't changed much. Haha..

Called steph up to meet. we went orchard. While walking towards far east, this man approached us and asked for donations. He claimed it was for the NKF patients who were jobless and have to raise their kids. He handed each of us a penguin cup as a token of appreciation, before we even wanted to give any. I was actually quite reluctant, cos i left 1.20 cash. But he kept insisting on us giving. So i sensed that sth was not right. I asked him "How reliable is this?" and he seemed confused, as if i was asking a who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire question. So i rephrased "I mean, how much can we trust this? Do you have any proof or cert?" Now, he panick and looked lost. I seriously didn't see the link between NKF and being jobless. Maybe i was ignorant abt this, but his body language said it all. So we returned him his penguin cups and walked away. I think we have to be extra careful during these times as there will be people who will take advantage of the situation now, whereby people are more willing to contribute financially. So keywords like "donation", "charity", "NKF" blabla.. can really turn on the 'compassion' button in us and causes us to be more willing to donate. So just be aware of where your money will end up cos there are already cases whereby people faked out their own tins and asked the public for donations which eventually landed in their own pockets. It kind of disgusts me a lil..

Well, so much for now. Bible reading! =)

testing

Com was down ytd, internet wasn't accessible.
Com is recovering fast, internet accessed, msn still down.
Man is coming to repair tmr.. Yay~

Met bird at 8.17 this morning! We went down to SGH to acc. ball cos her grandpa's in the ICU, but thank God, he's in stable condition now. =) Glad to see ball in her usual self now =) She has a very comical grandmum and a very cute uncle who waved at us and said 'hallo!'. Hahaha.. It was weird inside, everyone seemed to be so serious. But again, if they didn't, then it'd be weirder. Heh. Later, we went to suntec to have our Mac breakfast. So satisfying. Heh. =)

Had to go off early to meet Sis JinLian and JieTing to Desiree's house for a visitation. Was filled with anticipation as i hadn't done visitations before and thus didn't know what to expect. It turned out well, she was so chatty and couldn't stop fondling her hamster which has no toe nails. HAha.. The tv was switched to Kids Central which talked about pets, and she showed us a book about pets. Haha.. a bit wrong flow. But nvm, at the end of the visit, i know more about her and.. pets. Heh. So excited about our new cellgroup plans we came up ytd! ;) HEhE...

Went orchard to meet bird after that and we ate. With me ard there will always be eating. Heh. Cos i'm the president of the Round Club and i'm pretty proud of that. Lol.. Oh, and i miss my cheesestick. Saw someone eating but couldn't find it anywhere. Nvm not impt..

I watched tv just now! =) A bit rare.. Switched to CNN and they were reporting about the tsunami incident. It's titled "Saving the Children". It was more of a recollection of the tragic stories. There was this Sri Lankan man who testified of God's greatness even in the midst of chaos and distruction, this 7-yr-old boy who survived a the process of being in a train swept away by th strong currents by hanging on to the luggage rack, this son who had to decide to save either his mum or his sis so he let go of his sis's hand and he never see her again. I saw people returning to the rubble that was once their homes and i saw the helplessness in their faces. My heart was wrenched. I blinked back tears. How will their future be? Do they even think that far.. Maybe the only question in their minds is "Am i going to survive tmr?" But i'm really glad that the whole world is walking thru this valley with them and i believe that there will be an emergent of tough survivors who want to make a difference. Waiting in suspense for their stories.

Met cai at jp to collect her hp from nokia care and buy assessment bk for huiping. Haha.. after that i went to school to meet diana for self-study. The newbies were having orientation camp and they made a big mess in the field like what we did previously. Saw some of the more familiar JJ guys and i thot they looked so much better. Oops haha... Anyway diana told me this shocking thing, our principal, Mr Steven Koh, made this statement during morning assembly," I am a Christian, but i don't go to church often, in fact, i go to the temple more." Did he even know what he was uttering? It just doesn't make any sense, Mr Koh. Like what bro jeff told me just now "a lukewarm Christian is WORSE than a believer." This is quoted from the bible actually. I don't know how Mr Koh managed to link yoga to this. But he sure knows how to digress well. I hope he somehow can manage to chance upon my blog and do some self-reflection. Not trying to sound like i know a lot, just that this statement really triggered a lot of people today, non-believers and believers alike.

In life, a lot of things happened so abruptly
They often caught us by surprise and
left us stranded

One minute you were in cloud nine
and the next, nine feet below ground
That's a free rollercoaster ride nobody wants
Not even the typical Singaporeans (okie lame =P)

You screamed, but no one heard u
You cried, but no one saw your tear-stained face
Or maybe they didn't even bother
So the next best thing to do was
to pretend that nothing had happened
and move on

You drifted through life
Burying all your hurts and sorrows
deep in the corner of your mind
But still, they haunted you once in a while

You tried your best
to satisfy everyone
but at the end of the day
you are still all alone

Things became so bad
and you wanted to die
So you did

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This is such a lack of love poem-wannabe! LOL... Just trying to imagine how a depressed person would feel. Haha.. So grateful to have many good friends in my life, i think they are the best gifts God has given me. =)

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Oh, had a great time today at ECP. But sorry girls, i was so late. Anyway, we had fun la. It's been so long since i rollerbladed. Looking forward to the night blading with frances and friends haha.. Nothing much to say, just that i enjoyed the girls' company and making fun of sweemin's butt. LOL~

Oh ya, chatted with Diana a lil on msn just now and she was telling me that everyone was so stressed up right now. Sigh. i can't really empathize cos i'm not with them now, but i can sort of imagine the situation.. Can't blame. They are all trying to fit into this rigid system. Going to school tmr! =) Studying with Diana cos she can't study with stressed people. Haha.. Actually me too. I don like looking at stressed up look. Eek. I seriously can't imagine me having a permenant stressed look. But some people just have the amazing ability to transform their once 'flexible' face to a 'stuck' face. Haha.. hope you understand, but it doesn't matter if you don't.. HAHa..

Who's kamal? Get lost, not even worth a space in my mind.
Oh, so crude. Who cares..

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Went to school, was late for 30 mins. Haha.. but nothing happened anyway. The whole orientation thingy was so boring. But, i didn't sleep. The only fun thing was the mass dance. Haha.. Danced with this guy whose hands were so wet, i had to dry my hands after everytime i touched his. We danced 'Hey Ya'. After that I danced with Azman, much better. I met up with minmin during her break. Aww.. miss her!! She was bored and i was bored so we talked. She told me she took a lot of photos of ducks in Perth to show me.. HAHA.. thanks ah.. Ohya, i just
discovered a new friend. He lives directly above me only. And i just got to know him today. Haha.. i've nv seen him the entire last yr. He's the type who goes to school super early whereas I'm just the opposite. =) Nothing much happened today actually. They will be having orientation camp tmr but i'm not going la. So weird. Going rollerblading at east coast tmr with cai and alice! Yay.

Thought of the day: How will u feel if your friend personally tells you that he's a gay?

Blog has suddenly gone bonkers. Haha.. trying to fix it at the moment. =)

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TESTING TESTing

Oops. Woke up late today. 10.30 when James called. So i missed communion for svc 4 but managed to make it for svc 5's communion. =) Service was GREAT. A GREAT start to a new year. There were overflowing of people in the audition, if i'm not wrong, some had to sit on the stairs. And this is only a normal service, PTL! Today's message was about setting goals for 2005

How to set goals?
1. Be Specific
2. Goals must be Measurable
3. Come out with an Action Plan
4. Be Realistic
5. Be Time-conscious
For CHC we have 2 additional points
6. Expectation Management
7. Revelation from God

Proverbs 16:1
We may make our plans, but God has the last word.

I'm sort of excited to start school actually. But not the orientation, i think it's dumb. Can't wait to get my good results back, i wanna revenge! LOL~ No la jk. Hmm.. but i'm so pumped up now just thinking of studying. So not me, but this yr is different. A whole new aileen emerges. Stay tuned. haha..

Let me start by wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!
Hope that 2004 has been a gd year for u. But don't stop where you are, continue to have faith and believe God for mightier things! Let's go from glory to glory this 2005!

Personally, i feel that 2004 has been a really long break for me. I sailed past like a breeze. Not very productive or fruitful i feel. But nevertheless, I still like it and have grown a little bit more in my mind. Just did a reflection and realised that a lot of things actually happened.
Changed cell grp from E17 to N256
Prom night
First 'real' job @ pizza hut
Enlisted into JJC
Joined volleyball
Got my OM!
Changed service & section
Went Malaysia with friends
Went Indonesia with sch and JCH

These are the more significant ones la. Otherwise, the list will go on and on.. and on. One thing that haven't happened is, BGR. hahahhaa.. Turning 18 soon and not even one. HAHA.. Quite proud of that LOL~ Okie so my dream to have my 1st bf as my husband still stands. Strong. *GriNs* Anyway..... today is the beginning of a new yr which signals the penning down of greater goals. Okie so this is what i want to achieve by 31st Dec 2005..
-Almost all Distinctions in every subject.
It's time to work hard now, Aileen. This is a big dream and by faith i believe i can achieve that.
God says 'If you can see it, you can have it.'
You may laugh at me, well, for all i care. I turn my eyes to God and not you.
-Finish reading the Bible!
Have to get more serious in the relationship with God this yr. I want to know God even more and wanna get off my comfort zone.
-Get at least 3 souls saved
I wanna be a shining testimony so that when ppl look at me, they will know for sure that God exists and lives in me. End-time is nearing, I don't wanna waste time anymore.
-Stay BGR-free
HAHA.. (nothing much to say)

Ya these are the core things I really wanna achieve. oh ya, I came up with this slogan for myself this yr: Dare to dream BIG dreams
Sounds kind of.. cliche. Nvm.. It's for me myself.

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Had a great time of fellowship with my zone members just now! We stayed overnight at the airport so as to send Aaron off early in the morning. I thought i'd nv cry as i'm not very close to him, but as he waved goodbye, i felt the pinch and teared silently... Parting is nv easy but it's parts and parcels of life. I have come to accept that. I hope he can make new gd friends over in Canada and i'm sure they will be very blessed by him.

Yay! Service later!! Doing communion too. It's been so long since i had service! Can't wait. Hehe..